Thursday, April 15, 2010

10th CD Republicans

At this point in the 2008 race for the Republican nomination for Congress in the PA 10th District between Chris Hackett and Dan Meuser was a slugfest. Both candidates were running TV ads ripping into the other using information that I'm proud to say was first reported on Gort42 in many cases. This time around it's down right tame, even dull. That probably is due to the fact the candidates this time are not millionaires willing to pump a chunk of their fortunes into the campaign.

The conventional wisdom is that a freshman congressman is most vulnerable in the next election. But the national trend combined with the primary bloodbath that left many Meuser supporters resentful saw Congressman Chris Carney reelected by a big margin (56%-44%).

This year the Republicans have convinced themselves that Health Care Reform is so unpopular with people that think like them and live in the same echo chamber that he is a goner. I think the economy will be a bigger issue in the fall as it always is in any federal election.

All 3 GOP hopefuls oppose HCR and rail against deficits yet propose even more tax cuts. I call them the Tax Cut Triplets.

Malcolm Derk will not be on the air anytime soon. He is the first to file a FEC report showing that he only raised $18,000 in the first quarter with just $11,000 cash on hand. A few days ago his campaign sent out a press release that said he will be touring all 14 counties in the district. That sounds nice but it didn't bother to tell us where he will be and when.

The ride will start at 12:30 p.m. in Shamokin and make stops in Muncy, Dushore and Tunkhannock before ending in Honesdale at 5:30 p.m. The 165-mile ride will go through Northumberland, Snyder, Union, Lycoming, Sullivan, Wyoming, Lackawanna and Wayne counties.I hope he wears a helmet or at least a tri corn hat. This is kind of like teabaggers meet the Hell's Angels.Tom Marinomade a typo on his financial dislosure report. Louis DeNaples paid him a quarter of million dollars not $25,000. He defends writing a reference for DeNaples when he was applying for a slots license saying

"Mr. DeNaples has been a friend of mine for a long time," Marino said. "He's been very good to this state. He's created thousands and thousands of jobs, and I'm not throwing Mr. DeNaples under the bus for vote."DeNaples was later indicted for lying on his application but the charges were dismissed. Marino also claims he started the investigation into the Juvie Brothers corruption scandal in Luzerne County when he was the US Attorney.

Meet Tom Marino, who will certainly be in the DCCC’s crosshairs if he wins the GOP primary in Pennsylvania’s 10th to go up against Rep. Chris Carney (proud member of the Stupak Sellout crowd instrumental in voting ObamaCare into law last week). Marino, a former US Attorney, has his own shady dealings which will make for good campaign fodder in the general.

During Marino’s tenure as US Attorney, local businessman Louis DeNaples was under investigation by the US Attorney’s Office for his ties to William D’Elia, head of the Bufalino crime family. It seems DeNapleslied about his relationship with D’Elia to the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board when applying for a licence for the Mount Airy Casino. Listed as a personal reference on that same application was none other than US Attorney Tom Marino, the very man running the office investigating DeNaples’ organized crime ties.

The Department of Justice got wind of the conflict of interest and ordered Marino off the investigation, and shortly after the media broke the story he resigned his post… and went to work for Louis DeNaples. (The charges were eventually dropped when DeNaples agreed to place the casino project in the name of a family member.)

The reality is just as bad as–if not worse than–the optics of this scandal. Do we really want someone like Marino representing the GOP in what will be a battleground district this fall? Rep. Carney, the Pelosi-enabling, abortion-funding “Blue Dog” Democrat from a conservative district in northeastern Pennsylvania will have a hay day with Marino’s record. I’ve spoken with people in the district who feel uneasy about Marino and will likely just stay at home rather than having to choose between him and Carney.

One of the keys to a Republican resurgence is not only ensuring we have credibly conservative candidates running for office, but also candidates with a personal and professional record we can be proud of and defend. Tom Marinodoesn’t fit the bill.

15 comments:

Yeah, it was an "accident" that he put the decimal point in the wrong spot. The "accident" happened to make him look better and not worse. Ever notice they never make "accidents" that make them look worse? Glad someone picked up on that.

Dave Madeira has no chance. Most former Meuser supporters know that he did most of the dirty work for the Hackett campaign. What kind of piece of shit calls numerous former employees of a company to dig up dirt for a primary. Now he wants to be everyones friend. What a two-faced scum bag.

Madeira has all the correct solutions and moral values to right our sinking ship. He has no baggage and owes no homage to any power broker or wealthy individual. The problem is there are too many tit suckers and an increasingly dumbed down electorate in the 10th. Keep up with more of the same and we'll have more to bitch about down the road. Seems these stupid people never learn

Carney has done a good job for Pizza Town and pizza eaters. The problem you people have is that he won't wear your hat. He happens to be a Democrat who works for ALL the people and we the pizza eaters appreciate him and will vote for him. Belly up to the Pizza Bar, happy days are here again.

Madeira did the dirty work for Hackett and Marino was in Meuser's pocket, so it's almost a replay of two years ago with those two. Then you have Derk, who could be considered an "outsider" since he wasn't involved with these two last election but then again, the poor guy looks like he's going to get wedgies every day in Washington or they'll be shoving him into the ladies room while he walks by. He doesn't exactly project himself as powerful in any way. I think the Republicans are screwed once again in the 10th.

It is amazing that the Republicans can come up with a candidate that makes Meuser look like a saint. I am already hearing the cracks about Tommy Mafia Marino. Maybe the corruption probe needs to shift focus to Lycoming county.